Officials from the US Department of Justice met with Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday, with her lawyer stating that she “answered every single question” during the session. The meeting comes amid mounting pressure on the Trump administration to release further details about the investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche arrived at the office of the US attorney in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell’s legal team were also present. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking at a federal prison in Florida after her conviction in New York in 2021.
Following the meeting, Maxwell’s attorney David Markus said: “Miss Maxwell answered every single question. She never stopped. She never invoked a privilege. She never declined to answer.” Blanche is scheduled to meet Maxwell again on Friday.
Maxwell’s brother, Ian Maxwell, told the New York Post that his sister had been preparing “new evidence” before the meeting, which he claimed would have had a “significant impact” on her 2021 trial. Meanwhile, Mark Epstein, brother of Jeffrey Epstein, said he would ask Maxwell what his brother might have known about Donald Trump, adding: “Years ago he said he had dirt on Trump.”
The renewed focus on Trump’s past ties to Epstein follows the justice department’s announcement earlier this month that it would not release further documents from the Epstein investigation, despite earlier pledges. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was told his name appears multiple times in the files, though the White House denied the story.
The House oversight committee voted 8-2 on Wednesday to subpoena the justice department for the Epstein files, with three Republicans joining Democrats in the vote. The justice department’s decision not to release more documents has drawn criticism from both sides of the political aisle.
